Kerala High Court Rejects CBSE Students' Challenge To State's 2026 Standardisation Formula For Professional Courses Admission

The Kerala High Court on Monday (June 8) rejected a plea filed by CBSE students challenging the State Government's 2026 Prospectus for Admission to Professional Degree Courses with respect to the standardisation formula for preparing ranklist to Engineering courses.Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas remarked that the introduction of the new scheme of standardisation of marks is a matter of policy of the government and courts, not being experts in academic matters, can interfere only in exceptional circumstances of arbitrariness, mala fide or prejudice caused to students."The system of normalization recommended by the Internal Committee is not a new system. It has been in vogue in the State of Tamil Nadu for several years without any complaint. As noted earlier, the said system does not reveal any reduction in marks for any student from any Board. In the absence of any explicit arbitrariness or prejudice being shown to have been caused to any student due to the method of normalization adopted by the Prospectus 2026, this Court ought to restrain itself from interfering with such a process," the Court remarked. The petitioners before the Court were students who intended to take part in the State entrance examination. According to them, the new normalisation brought in by the 2026 Prospectus created great prejudice to CBSE students and the same was implemented without any expert study.The case of the petitioners was that the present change is arbitrary and without scientific evaluation.The Commissioner of Entrance Examinations took the stand that the government is entitled to lay down prescriptions in the prospectus in accordance with its policy and the same cannot be tested. Further, it was also argued that the new standardisation is brought in for the very purpose of removing the disparity that used to exist with the earlier standardisation methods.It was also pointed out that an Internal Committee comprising the Commissioner for Entrance Examination, the Director of Technical Education and the Director of SCERT reviewed the standardisation process and it was decided that the normalisation method adopted in Tamil Nadu can be adopted in Kerala as well.In the present normalisation process, the highest marks obtained in each respective Board is treated as 100% so as to ensure that no student from any Board gets any undue advantage.After hearing the parties, the Court examined the history of the standardisation system adopted by the government in 2012 and 2025. It also referred to a decision of the Division Bench that set aside a revised standardisation brought in by the government after issuance of prospectus and noted that the impugned standardisation was brought in through the present prospectus after the constitution of the Internal Committee on December 6, 2025. The Court was also of the view that even though minor errors can rise in new schemes, that is not a reason for judicial interference:"Similarly, introduction of the new scheme of normalization of marks is a matter of policy. Minor errors can also arise while introducing a new scheme. At times, the errors would become visible or identifiable only after it is put to test. However, merely because there can be minor errors in a system of examination and evaluation introduced by the Government, the court ought not to sit in judgment over the wisdom of such a scheme or system unless serious prejudice is expressly shown to exist in the new scheme or method. Though absolute equality is the ideal situation, that may not be possible to be achieved, especially when there are different Boards following different curricula."Rejecting the contention regarding absence of experts in the Internal Committee, the Court opined:"it is noted that the said Committee consisted of the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations, the Director for Technical Education and the Director of the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT). The above referred persons are well versed with entrance examinations and the field of education and thus cannot be held to be incompetent persons to review the system that was in existence."Thus, it dismissed the writ petitions.Case No: W.P.(C) Nos.4399 & 1480/2026Case Title: Jomon Jaison and Ors. v. State of Kerala and Anr. and connected caseCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 317Counsel for the petitioners: T.S. Harikumar, P.B. Sahasranaman, P. Mohandas, K. Sudhinkumar, Sabu Pullan, R. Bhaskara Krishnan, Bharath Mohan, Dr. K.P. Satheesan (Sr.)Counsel for the respondents: P.G. Pramod - Senior Government Pleader, N. Manoj Kumar - State AttorneyClick to Read/Download Judgment

Kerala High Court Rejects CBSE Students' Challenge To State's 2026 Standardisation Formula For Professional Courses Admission

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K. Salma Jennath

Kerala High Court Rejects CBSE Students' Challenge To State's 2026 Standardisation Formula For Professional Courses Admission

K. Salma Jennath

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